Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Stock Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$5.83 and traded as high as C$5.90. Baytex Energy shares last traded at C$5.83, with a volume of 2,174,519 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BTE shares. TD boosted their price target on shares of Baytex Energy from C$6.00 to C$6.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Baytex Energy from C$7.00 to C$8.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from C$5.25 to C$7.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. National Bank Financial increased their price target on shares of Baytex Energy from C$7.50 to C$8.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Baytex Energy from C$6.50 to C$7.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$7.05.

Baytex Energy Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is C$6.02 and its 200-day moving average is C$5.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94. The stock has a market capitalization of C$4.13 billion, a PE ratio of -6.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.37.

Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported C$0.24 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$564.88 million during the quarter. Baytex Energy had a negative return on equity of 26.41% and a negative net margin of 131.38%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Baytex Energy Corp. will post 0.3703367 earnings per share for the current year.

Baytex Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were given a $0.0225 dividend. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Baytex Energy’s payout ratio is currently -7.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Baytex Energy news, Director Stephen David Lile Reynish sold 77,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$6.85, for a total transaction of C$531,560.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,400 shares in the company, valued at C$105,490. This represents a 83.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Baytex Energy

Baytex Energy Corp. is a Calgary -based energy company committed to driving shareholder value through disciplined execution. It operates a high-quality, high-return portfolio in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, featuring the Pembina Duvernay and heavy oil plays in Alberta and Saskatchewan. These core assets are backed by an extensive drilling inventory and consistently generate strong cash flow.